Rooster Teeth hits one billion views

Rooster Teeth, the production company known for its video game-themed shorts, skits, and shows, hit one billion views on their YouTube channel earlier this month.

Rooster Teeth is one of the first independent production companies to complete this feat. There are roughly 30 YouTube channels that have hit the One Billion View mark, but most of those channels are news organizations or operated by record labels and pop stars, like Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

The production company, which began making videos in 2003 before YouTube came into being, actually has its own Internet and gaming conference, RTX, that’s “all about playing new video games and creating online content.” Its best known for the Halo-themed comedy “Red vs Blue,” and currently sits at the number 27 spot on YouTube with 1.7 million subscribers.

To celebrate the occasion, the writers, editors, and animators of Rooster Teeth filmed “Dear YouTube,” a three-minute video in which the crew sound off on the milestone with jokes like: “Wow, that is a lot of wasted time,” “Don’t go to college, make videos on YouTube!” and “if it wasn’t for you, I’d have a real job.”

In a blog post, Burnie Burns, the owner of Rooster Teeth, described “Dear YouTube” as a “love note” to the Rooster Teeth fanbase.

“A billion views well deserved, thanks for nine awesome years,” commentedFinnA9X, a two year Rooster Teeth community member from Dublin, Ireland.

“I have been with RT pretty much since episode one of RvB,” wrote TheSyaSongbird on YouTube. “It has been amazing watching you guys grow and taking something you love and making a career out of it. Congratulations and I will be watching in the future to﻿ see what you come up with next!”